THE MANHATTAN BEACH MIDDLE SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE WAS LAST NIGHT: April 23 2013
It’s a busy night! Here’s the evening at a glance.
MBMS, 4:45 – 7:30 pm
4:45 Book Fair will be open, Staff Lunch Room behind MPR
5:25 PTA Meeting, all welcome! MPR
6:00 Classroom visits
Study Hut Office Manager Sam and Co-Owner SP attended the Open House and passed out fliers and talked about the Study Hut and upcoming summer enrichment programs that we offer.
The students at Manhattan Beach Middle School got out early from school yesterday so that the teachers could prepare and set up for open house.
At open houses, parents can talk to the teachers about how the year is going and see what projects and work the students have done throughout the year.
For Redondo Beach schoools, Paris Middle School is having their open house tomorrow on April 25th.
The Activities for the open house at Paris Middle School:
Scholastic Book Fair in the Library
5:30p.m. – 6:30p.m. Hot Dog BBQ for
Incoming Parents and Students
Enjoy listening to our Jazz Band
5:30p.m. – 7:30p.m. PTSA
Opportunity Drawing – Gym
6:30p.m. – 8:00p.m. Visit Classrooms
For Adams Middle School Open House (here’s what it says on their website)
Adams Middle School Open House Night
Please join us for Open House on Thursday, April 25, 2013 from 6pm to 8pm. Open House is a great way to see all the amazing things going on in your child’s classroom, other teachers’ rooms, and to connect with Adams families. Dismissal will be at 12:29 p.m. on this day.
THE MANHATTAN BEACH MIDDLE SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE WAS LAST NIGHT:
April 23 2013
It’s a busy night! Here’s the evening at a glance.
MBMS, 4:45 – 7:30 pm
4:45 Book Fair will be open, Staff Lunch Room behind MPR
5:25 PTA Meeting, all welcome! MPR
6:00 Classroom visits
Study Hut Office Manager Sam and Co-Owner SP attended the Open House and passed out fliers and talked about the Study Hut and upcoming summer enrichment programs that we offer.
The students at Manhattan Beach Middle School got out early from school yesterday so that the teachers could prepare and set up for open house.
At open houses, parents can talk to the teachers about how the year is going and see what projects and work the students have done throughout the year.
For Redondo Beach schoools, Paris Middle School is having their open house tomorrow.
As a lifelong student, there a few characteristics you know are important to a good college essay. Strong diction, clear writing structure, and correct grammar – but there might be a few illusive aspects of an outstanding college essay.
First, try to come up with a relatively unique storyline for your main essay. I know that is challenging; and you probably will not come up with anything an admissions officer has not read before. But try to say something unique.
At minimum, try to say something moving. Reach deep down within yourself and pull out something you are passionate about, or an event that really impacted your life.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, great admissions officers everywhere want to see young/potential professors. The want to see the deep inquisitiveness, curiosity, and desire to learn that is prevalent in academia. This can all be summed up in one word: drive.
Are you driven about your field of study? Academics? Leading other people? A particular public policy issue? A particular pursuit? Life?? The essay only has to be one of these sections – but this drive has to shine through somehow.
It helps the admissions staff see how you could fit in at their university if it is an issue/section that can directly relate to a field of study they offer. If you love travel, and you love learning about different cultures, maybe you will be an International Relations major or Anthropology major. They like to see that there is some sort of direct connection between your displayed passion and their college.
Make sure at least one of your essays is about your chosen field of study. If you do not know which field you want to major in yet, just pick one. Do not worry about not knowing. Many young adults do not know what they want to do when they go to college. But the school does not want to hear “I have no interests” they want to hear “I’m really interested in a lot of things” or “I’m really interested in this one thing.” But if you go with the “interested in a lot things” essay – be sure to narrow it down to top two or three interests. Top two is better, especially if the essay is short.
Good Sample Topics
How travel abroad changed your opinion of the world/opened your eyes?
How has working/volunteering with those less fortunate changed your view of the world?
How did struggling with working in high school to help your family change you for the better?
What was an adverse event you thrived under? How?
A personally traumatic event, and how you succeeded anyways, can actually make some of the best essays around
Leadership roles (sports, student government, club leadership)
Something you are incredibly passionate about – if you can write a long essay about it – it can be your chosen field of study if you want
AVID is an Advancement Via Individual Determination: A 4-year elective that helps kids get ready for a 4-year college experience. AVID is a bi-weekly tutorial which helps kids keep their GPA up, SAT and ACT tutoring starting in 10th grade, and the rest of the time is focused on expanding their horizons and getting them ready for college.
From their website it says: AVID, Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a college readiness system for elementary through higher education that is designed to increase schoolwide learning and performance. The AVID College Readiness System (ACRS) accelerates student learning, uses research based methods of effective instruction, provides meaningful and motivational professional learning, and acts as a catalyst for systemic reform and change.
AVID began in 1980 by Mary Catherine Swanson, then-head of the English department at San Diego’s Clairemont High School. The federal courts issued an order to desegregate the city’s schools, bringing large numbers of inner city students to suburban schools. While applauding the decision, Swanson wondered how these underserved students would survive at academically acclaimed Clairemont High.
Her answer was AVID, an academic elective. But it’s more than a program – it’s a philosophy: Hold students accountable to the highest standards, provide academic and social support, and they will rise to the challenge.
AVID is having their year-end site team meetings. Peninsula High School’s meeting was today and Palos Verdes High School is tomorrow the AVID year-end site team meetings are where parents, students, teachers, and tutors get together to discuss how the year went and discuss goals for next year. The Peninsula High School Avid seniors set a record: 100% of the kids that applied to a 4-year school were accepted to at least one. They had a record high for applications for next year’s freshman that is. The AVID Program is increasing the amount of tutors they are going to have next year – so the ratio will be 7 students to 1 tutor in tutorials. This year it was about 12 tutors to 1 student. They also have a record high number of kids going to their overnight college trip – which is where 41 kids spend 2 days to go see Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and University of California Santa Barbara.
Let us help your student put the “Star” in STAR Testing!!!
Each spring, students in grades two through eleven take a STAR test. The STAR Program looks at how well schools and students are performing. Students take tests in math, reading, writing, science, and history. Teachers and parents can use test results to improve student learning.
The STAR Program includes four tests: the California Standards Tests, the California Modified Assessment, the California Alternate Performance Assessment, and the Standards-based Tests in Spanish.
The STAR Program for 2010–11 has four components:
California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA)—The CAPA is an alternate performance assessment to the CSTs in English-language arts (ELA), mathematics, and science. It is an individually administered assessment for pupils with significant cognitive disabilities who have an individualized education program (IEP).
California Modified Assessment (CMA)—The CMA is an alternate assessment to the CSTs in ELA, mathematics, and science for eligible pupils who have an IEP and meet the CMA eligibility criteria adopted by the SBE.
California Standards Tests (CST)—The CSTs are criterion-referenced tests that assess the California content standards in ELA, mathematics, science, and history-social science.
Standards-based Tests in Spanish (STS)—The STS are criterion-referenced tests aligned to the California content standards for reading/language arts and mathematics.
STAR Testing is just around the corner with test being given between April 17th and May 3rd, depending on your school.
STAR Testing is important because:
– Helps place kids in the appropriate class each year
– Used to appropriate funds in the district
– Can identify subject weaknesses in a student
– Colleges are starting to look at them to help determine admittance
– Some teachers give extra credit for doing well.
We have access to past tests and can help your student prepare to do their best and knock it out of the park.
Don’t wait… book your appointment today (7 days a week)!
Contact samantha@studyhut.com or call 1-310-546-2408
This Sunday Hut 1 is going on a trip to the Magic Castle!! The Magic Castle is the showplace for some of the greatest magicians from around the globe. We also take great pride in showcasing the magnificent building that houses the Magic Castle. Built in 1908, this storied mansion has watched Hollywood grow and change for over 100 years while never losing its original charm.
The Magic Castle is the private clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts, Inc, a very special organization devoted to the advancement of the ancient art of magic. The purpose of The Academy is to encourage and promote public interest in the art of magic with particular emphasis on preserving its history as an art form, entertainment medium, and hobby. Beginning with a charter membership of 150, the Academy has grown into a world-renowned fraternal organization with a membership of nearly 5,000.
Dinner is served at the Magic Castle in an atmosphere of Victorian elegance. Entreés range from simple but elegant pastas to lobster and Filet Mignon. The Castle’s menu also includes excellent seafood and vegetarian fare. Now enjoy fantastic food and magic with your family! The Castle is open Sat. and Sun. for brunch and offers three performances, Palace, Parlor, and Close-up. Invited guests welcome!
If you’re a magician, you just like magic or you would like to be able to entertain guests at a very exclusive private club in Hollywood, The Academy of Magical Arts has a membership category just for you!
If you have received a guest card from a member, you can find lots of information to help plan your visit, including the dress code.
The Academy of Magical Arts offers a basic magic class for adult beginners. This class can provide you with the skills you need to develop your own magical routines and prepare for a successful AMA Magician membership audition.
The Magic Castle features some of the finest award-winning magicians in the world with all new magic acts each week in our showrooms.
Yesterday, our RB Office Manager had a meeting with a student named Claire and her dad Jeff!! She is a Junior in High School and about to be a senior… and JUST now decided that she wanted to take the ACT.
The girl does well in Science and scored a 27 on her ACT Diagnostic test. Claire told our RB Office Manager that she had taken the SATS but about a year and a half ago, so not very recently.
The problem the student had was that she has been so focused on her grades and pin pointing exactly what she wants to major in, instead of focusing on what school she wanted to go or the area she want to live in.
Claire was focused more on her future and where her major was going to take her, that she did not stop to think about what location she wanted to go to college at, or the area she wanted to surround her self by.
When going to college, you have to think about not only what school you want to go, but also the area you want to live in. From LA to New York, there are so many schools across the United States, and each city is so different and unique, and each offer different things.
Make sure to spend time at the colleges of your choice, because it’s not only about the education, the classes, and the majors a school may offer, but the city it’s it or the surrounding area can also make a huge impact on your college life in either a positive or negative way.
College can last anywhere from 3 – 6 or more years and you want to make sure you choose a college where you are going to get a great education, but you have to make sure you can feel at home and feel safe and secure in the area that you want to live in.
Today I tutored a third grade boy who goes to Hermosa Valley School. He is on Spring Break but his mom brought him in to work on multiplication and division problems for math. Usually we work on his homework but he was caught up on his homework for the following week so we concentrated all on math.
We did not have any division flashcards in the office, but we did have multiplication ones so we worked on multiplication first. I let my student study the flashcards for 15 minutes and then I quizzed him on the answers for 15 minutes and re did the ones he was not sure about. I wrote down the ones he got wrong so he could study them at home. 8 x 7 = 56 was the hardest one for him to remember.
He knew most of the answers, the easiest being the 1’s times tables – 5 times tables. He knew all the tricks like using your hands for the 9s times tables.
When he didn’t know any answer or did not want to figure it out, he would just guess, even though I knew that he knew the answer. I then made him fill out a worksheet of multiplication tables that he got to take home and look over after his session. The ones he really struggled with were the 12s times tables, which are difficult for any 3rd grader.
Then we moved on to division. I printed out worksheets since we did not have division flashcards, so we went over different worksheets. He struggled more with division, but he said he enjoyed division more than multiplication.
I let him have 15 minutes to fill out the division worksheet and then we went over it for 15 minutes. It was perfect timing. It took him a little longer on the division since you have to think backwards in a sense. He was in great spirits and knows that if he thinks about it, he can get the answer right.
It’s Spring Break and another great trip students are taking this week are to visit college campuses around the United States! Whether it’s a private school, UC schools, State Schools, or Junior Colleges… Spring Break is a great way to start your college journey!!
Here are things to pay attention to when you are visiting a college campus:
1. The location: Is your college in a college town?
2. The dorm/living situation. Do they have nice accomodations? Do you have to share a room or can you ask for a single room? How many roommates?
3. Is there school spirit? Does the school have sports teams and games to watch on campus?
4. Can you get involved? Do they have clubs and organizations you can participate in?
5. Are you surrounded by a big city or fun city events? If you are in or near a city like LA or San Francisco there are always fun events to attend.. i.e.: concerts, museums, amusement parks, beaches, and fun outdoor activities like hiking, mountain biking, and exercising in general – just to name a few!!
6. Do you know anyone who has gone there before or any family members that live nearby the campus?
7. Is it close or near to home? Some kids like to be closer to home and others like to expand their wings and travel to other parts of the country.
There are just a few criteria that you can go through when choosing a college.
You will get many different opinions when choosing the best schools, but according to the National University Rankings – the top 10 schools are:
Have any fun plans for Spring Break? Well, some students from the South Bay are going on a trip of a lifetime to Loreto, Baja California Sur Mexico tomorrow, which is not only educational but a life changing experience.
Tomorrow, 14 students from the South Bay will be going to Loreto, Baja California Sur for the week for a Student Exchange Program that was started in 1967.
Loreto was the first Spanish settlement on the Baja California Peninsula. It served as the capital of Las Californias from 1697 to 1777. The city of 14,724 people (2010 census) is located on the coast of the Sea of Cortez, about 350 km (220 mi) north of the state capital, La Paz.
The town was founded in 1697 by Jesuit missionaries, who found a steady spring of fresh water on this site, as the Mision Nuestra Senora De Loreto. The town served as the capital of the province of Las Californias from its founding until the capital was moved to Monterey on February 3, 1777. The town then became the headquarters for the Lieutenant Governor of California Viejo (later the province of Baja California).
The city is now a tourist resort, catering mostly to U.S. travelers, with daily flights from California to the Loreto International Airport (LTO). Many American tourists enjoy fishing in “pangas” for “dorado”. Local restaurants will willingly prepare the daily catch of the tourists. Loreto has a museum that coexists alongside the historic, but still active, parish. Loreto has active sister city relationships with Hermosa Beach and Cerritos California, USA.
There are 9 girls and 5 boys going. The students are from Manhattan Beach Middle School, Paris Middle School, and Adams Middle School – Manhattan and Redondo schools.
Join the fun and excitement of a lifetime in our delightful sister city Loreto , Mexico ! For over 30 years, the Hermosa Beach Sister City Association has sponsored Hermosa Valley School 7th & 8th grade students as well as students from Manhattan and Redondo in the past few years – in a cultural exchange program between Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico and the Beach Cities of Hermosa, Manhattan and Redondo.
Students will live with a Loreto 7th or 8th grader and his/her family for 7 days and build a lifetime of memories with chaperoned daily activities and organized field trips. After all the fun, Beach Cities students will host their Loreto 7th or 8th grader for one week in July and show them our way of life here.
Loreto , Mexico is a safe and beautiful town on the Sea of Cortez. Chaperones will escort students to and from Mexico , match students to host families, and participate in the organized activities.
The students from Loreto will come to the South Bay during the week of July 12 – 19, 2013 and experience what life is like in the South Bay. The students will go to different cultural places, including museums, aquariums, theme parks, just to name a few.
The great thing about the Loreto program is that both Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach both have sister cities in Baja California Sur Mexico. Manhattan’s sister city is Santa Rosalia and Redondo Beach’s sister city has 2: La Paz and Ensenada. Both Mira Costa High School and Redondo Union High School have Baja Clubs and the high school students spend the week in Santa Rosalia or La Paz/Ensenada during the February Break or Spring Break. Therefore, the Hermosa Beach program prepares the 7th and 8th grade students incase they want to continue with the exchange programs in High School.
The HBSCA Cultural Exchange Program was certified by the United States Congress, and entered into the congressional record of the 110th congress session.
